Aluminum Masts reused - not on a boat...

[lindsayjmcd]

Has anyone here heard of people reusing aluminum masts to structurally support a canopy system for a home? It occurs to me that in 100-km winds the mast (to maintain it's strength) might want to be on a moving object, and in the case of a house, the object (hopefully) doesn't move.

I've been told that aluminum masts are wonderfully strong. I wonder, though, under circumstances where they are cemented into the ground and holding a sail that doesn't go anywhere, if they might be THAT strong.

Have any of you, in your travels seen such a thing as a outdoor canopy system being supported by aluminum masts?
What might be your initial thinking? thank you.

[Jim Cate]

Alloy yacht masts are indeed very strong... in compression. They rely upon the standing rigging to convert side loading into compression, and lacking that rigging they are woefully weak.

So, do you propose to have such rigging in your design? If not, I suspect that you will need some other form of support, likely heavy wall pipe sections.

Jim

[GordMay]

Sailboat masts are not designed as structural columns; but given detailed specifications, a structural engineer could calculate it’s load bearing capacity.
A mast would require the addition of a base plate, and a [top] capital plate, to work as a column.
Note: A column is a structural element that transmits load from above, to a supporting structure below. The word ‘column’ is associated, in particular, with elements that have a central shaft that is round [not oval-like] in section.

Here’s one manufacturer’s [of prefabricated aluminum columns] test specification, for comparison:
➥ https://mcmel.ca/wp-content/uploads/...test-sheet.pdf
Round 130 mm [5¼ in] diameter x 3,048mm [120 in] tall Aluminum Column
Maximal load test at break: 7913kg [17,445 lb]
Maximal load in projects [SF=2]: 3957 kg [8,723 lb]

[Benz]

I went the other way and turned an aluminum light pole into a mast.
Light poles and flag poles are freestanding sections, often aluminum, and usually round, sometimes tapered.
I'd want to know the weight of the canopies, dimensions, how the masts are stepped, etc before knowing that I'd be comfortable with it, but it's not a bad idea if you have a bunch of masts lying around.